Slipknot delivers knockout punch at Mayhem Fest in Phoenix

The fourth annual Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival brought Slipknot, Slayer, Motorhead and Jagermeister stage headliners Anthrax to the Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion on Friday, July 6, where the metal heavyweights were greeted by a sea of devil horns, masks and moshpits. This years line-up was definitely one for the old-school thrash-metal purists and was a breath of fresh air after last year's nu-metal line-up.

There were also some fresh newer faces like metalcore act the Devil Wears Prada who opened the festival's main stage just after 6 p.m. During their short 30-minute set, you could sense that they were feeling the pressure of opening for some of the most influential bands in metal. But lead vocalist Mike Hranica did his best to win over the crowd with his intense screaming. It would prove to be a daunting task, though, since the crowd didn't seem to be familiar with any of their material and clearly Anthrax should have had their slot.

Metal legends Motorhead followed and much of their 11- song set was riddled by sound issues right out the gate with opening track "Bomber." Lead singer/bassist Lemmy Kilmister's harsh vocal tone was buried in the mix during Motorhead staples like "Line in the Sand", "Ace of Spades" and "Overkill."

Slayer brought their brand of evil to the stage next with a huge cross made up of Marshall stacks as they blasted into "Disciple." Like Motorhead, they were plagued with sound issues and drummer Dave Lambardo's triggered double bass drum was often louder than Kerry King's rhythm guitar. Slayer stuck with the classics like "Seasons In the Abyss," "War Ensemble" and crowd favorite "Angel of Death," most likely because they haven't released a new record since 2009's "World Painted Blood."

If Slayer were delivering jabs throughout their set, headliners Slipknot hit the stage to deliver the knock out punch. As the lights dimmed, a sea of blue-back lights covered the stage. When drummer Joey Jordison started beating his kick drum, fire shot out behind him during the intro to "(sic)" from 1999's self-titled release.

As the curtain dropped, Slipknot ripped through the opening track decked in their original red jumpsuits with the same masks from their last tour. Even with so many people onstage at once, it still felt vacant without bassist Paul Gray, who passed away in 2010, and guitarist Jim Root, who had to sit the tour out after having his appendix removed.

The members of Slipknot are the exact opposite of Slayer. They move around the stage and put on an entertaining show and they have great energy and chemistry.

They had the crowd singing along to every song. Older tracks like "Wait and Bleed" have aged well and still sound as brutal as they did in 1999. The hour-long set was filled with a greatest-hits type vibe with tracks like "Vermillion," "Heretic Anthem" and "Pyschosocial." The highlight of the set was the tribute to Gray before "Surfacing" with a backdrop of his #2 behind them.